


It's All About Perspective

by TheAvengersMascot



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst and a Little Fluff, Author likes to Fix Things, Brother Feels, Gen, Guilty Thor, Loki's plans backfire (big surprise), Mild references to violence, One Shot, Post-Thor: The Dark World, Sort of Unreliable Narrator, Thor: The Dark World Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-25
Updated: 2014-04-25
Packaged: 2018-01-20 15:51:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1516289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAvengersMascot/pseuds/TheAvengersMascot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki sits on the throne of Asgard. His brother is out of the way but Loki isn't content. Using the power he now possesses as Asgard's king, he seeks to have a bit of fun with Thor - to entirely unforeseen consequences.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's All About Perspective

**Author's Note:**

> I'm assuming for the purposes of this fic that the afterlife in the MCU is not as accessible as in the comic verse. In the comics the Asgardians could pop into Valhalla or Helheim pretty much any time they wanted, although Hela was a little picky about whether she'd let people in or let them leave after. I'm going to guess it's not quite as easy in the movie verse. Anyway - on we go.
> 
> Disclaimer: All characters belong to Marvel.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

Thor was supposed to be the same selfish, insensitive oaf Loki knew all his life.

All Loki wanted was to punish him a little, use his expanded powers to haunt him, as the Midgardians say. A little astral projection and Thor would see him everywhere. 

It was fun at first, watching Thor's dumbfounded reactions. He was travelling about the city of London obtaining various items for Jane. Loki first had his reflection appear to Thor in the window of mechanized carriage he rode. Thor was in the middle of putting on deferential airs and yielding his seat to a pair of elderly mortals. Loki's face shone in the glass above their heads for but a moment but it was enough. Thor's jaw fell open comically wide and stayed that way until he realized he was attracting attention.

 _Not bad_ , Loki thought, however he was confident he could illicit a much more dramatic reaction. After Thor exited the carriage Loki used the reflection gag once more, making Thor stop walking so abruptly a mortal teenager crashed into him from behind. Thor of course played the chivalrous hero and stooped to pick the boy up. The whelp lavished praise on Thor, going on and on about his deeds during the Convergence. Thor drank it in, accepting the boy's flattery without so much as alluding to Loki's part in the matter.

Loki felt a near uncontrollable urge to set Thor's trousers ablaze for that affront but held himself back. There were other ways to get even.

When Thor at last moved on from his fawning acolyte, Loki saw another opportunity. He cast a glamour over a dummy in one of the shop windows, leaving the face blank but adding long dark locks and an ensemble identical to the one he wore at the time of his 'death'. 

Thor walked straight into a lamp post.

The resultant clang reverberated throughout the street, drawing the attention of everyone in hearing distance. Thor gave a somewhat sheepish shrug as he stepped over to right the now tilted post. A few people chuckled at the sight and Thor smiled in response, making it seem like a lighthearted accident. Loki knew otherwise. Thor's emotions were as easy to read a words on a page. His smile was strained and as Thor resumed his stroll, his expression was pensive and troubled.

Loki grinned. _It's working._

He left Thor alone for the next little while. _Let Thor believe he is safe_ , he thought. Loki watched his brother go about his errands, culminating with a stop at a tavern of sorts for a meal. Thor ate little, which gave Loki more enjoyment. The only time Thor didn't eat like a ravenous beast was when he was deeply troubled by something. 

_Mayhap a guilty conscience, brother?_

At the end of the meal, Loki saw the best chance for mischief yet. Thor left the table to relieve himself. Loki waited until Thor finished in the toilet and went to wash his hands. He was pleasantly taken aback when his brother splashed and scrubbed his face over the sink as well. He was getting to Thor even more than he expected, Loki realized with glee.

 _Time for the kill._

When Thor straightened up from the sink and glanced in the mirror, he saw not himself but Loki. The Loki dying from being run through by Kurse, his skin a grotesque grey, lips and eyes void of colour, and hands pressed over his chest with blood seeping between his fingers.

"Brother, please," the image whispered, a trickle of blood escaping between his lips for added effect.

Thor stumbled back, one hand over his mouth and the other flung out before him as if to ward off the apparition.

" _Brother..._ " murmured the shade.

"Loki," Thor breathed.

Thor reached out to the spectre in the same moment another patron of the tavern entered the toilets. His gaze momentarily flew to the mortal and by the time he returned it to the mirror, the illusion was gone. The human took one look at Thor's face and backed out of the room. 

In the halls of Valaskjalf, Loki roared with laughter. Much to his annoyance however, his celebration over Thor's consternation was cut short. An emissary from Vanaheim had arrived early for an audience with the king. Loki withdrew his astral presence from the mortal realm and shifted his focus to the duties of All-Father. It still ate at him, wearing the guise of one he so hated, but it meant the throne was his without the questions and threats of treachery he endured the last time.

Loki concluded the business with the Vanir as quickly as he could without raising suspicion over the haste. After seeing to it the hall was emptied once more, he returned his attention to Midgard. He found Thor back in the residence he shared with Jane. His brother was alone, seated in a chair and holding something in hands from which emanated a soft glow. His curiosity piqued, Loki drifted over to see what it was.

Thor was grasping a golden frame, one decorated with Asgardian runes. What it contained stunned Loki. It was a ljósmynd, similar to human photographs but ljósmynd captured a moving image, not a still one. The one Thor had was of the two of them as much younger men seated at a banquet table. Loki's head was tilting back in laughter and Thor... Thor was laughing right along with him. Not only that but he had a look of utter adoration on his face. Adoration aimed at _Loki._ The two of them appeared so... so... happy.

Loki recoiled from the sight, a sudden pressure bearing down on his chest. This is not what was supposed to happen. He was supposed to toy with Thor then sit back and watch while Thor blundered about, jumping at shadows. Thor wasn't supposed to...

_Why is he staring at the picture? Why isn't he cursing me instead of mourning me?_

Loki's thoughts caught on the word. _Mourning? Is that what he's doing?_ He spun round and gazed intently at Thor's face. The light from the ljósmynd was dim but Loki saw it, or rather them. Tear tracks coming from his brother's eyes. 

"I'm sorry, brother," Thor murmured.

Loki shook his head. _This is wrong. This is all wrong._

Loki fled, bringing his mind back to his body. He all but leapt off Hliðskjálf and retreated to his private chambers. _Retreat, definitely the right word_ , he decided as he barricaded himself in his rooms behind layers and layers of magic to keep everyone out.

Thor was arrogant, and self-absorbed, and self-righteous. He was _not_ introspective and he certainly didn't care for Loki as his brother. Thor made that clear as crystal in their conversation in the dungeon. He claimed to no longer see his brother when he looked at Loki. So what was he doing weeping over an image of them together and happy? He had no right, no right at all, not after all he'd done.

Loki paced around the room, too restless to sit but too riled to go anywhere without attracting the wrong kind of attention. 

Three days passed in a similar fashion, with Loki-as-Odin delegating as many of his duties as possible, only emerging from his chamber when there was absolutely no other choice. Finally, it got to be too much. He could no longer bear sitting by in Asgard without knowing what prompted Thor's actions. 

Loki manifested an illusion of Odin asleep in bed. Using the power of Gungnir along with his own, he opened a portal to Midgard, specifically to Thor's residence. He stepped through, emerging on the terrace outside. With a flick of his wrist, Loki popped open the lock on the door and stepped inside. Shielding himself with a concealment charm, he went into the bedroom where the two lovers were asleep. Loki first cast a spell over Jane, ensuring she would not wake as long as Loki remained in the house. The spell for Thor was more complicated. He needed Thor to wake without realizing he was awake. For this to work, Thor had to believe it was all a dream. Loki spoke the words and felt power flow from him to his brother.

Moments later, Thor stirred and lifted his head. He caught sight of Loki right away. In an effort to preserve the dreamlike quality of it all, Loki vanished from the bedside and reappeared in the doorway to the hall. When he beckoned Thor to follow, his brother did just that. He didn't so much as glance at Jane, giving Loki confidence Thor did not believe himself awake. Loki disappeared again and waited for Thor to find him in the sitting room, which he did.

"I was afraid you were gone for good," Thor said.

"Oh come now, Thor," he replied, endeavouring to hide his shock at the use of the word 'afraid'. "You didn't think to be rid of me that easily."

"Not rid of you, no. Only I..." Thor trailed off. "When I kept seeing your face, a part of me began to think... to hope it was a sign you yet survived somehow."

Loki watched in silence as Thor's shoulders slumped in defeat. He once thought he would enjoy the sight but now all he felt was a stone weight in his stomach.

"But you didn't," Thor went on. "It was all my own wishful thinking. Just like this."

"Why would you wish me alive? You hardly seemed bereft of my company while I languished in chains," Loki pointed out. "I shouldn't think my being dead is any different."

Thor winced. "Father decreed no one should see you."

Loki's ire burned at that. He knew full well Odin's edict. He also knew their mother found a way around it. If she could, so could Thor have done had he wanted. But he hadn't wanted. Before he could say any of this to Thor though, his brother spoke again. 

"And I was so very angry with you."

His lip curling with a sneer, Loki said, "The feeling is mutual, _brother_."

"I know," Thor sighed. "And I understand now that you have cause for it. Far more than I ever knew."

Loki couldn't have been more shocked if Sleipnir suddenly appeared in front if him and danced a jig. He'd been readying a salvo of vitriol with the express intent of tearing Thor to pieces. Instead of firing it off, the only word he was able to force out was a hoarse, "Explain."

Thor took a deep breath. "You spoke to me once of living in a shadow. I thought you were only rationalizing, inventing reasons to justify your crimes.

"But mother said the same thing, that father and I cast long shadows and you struggled to find some light for yourself. I forgot her words until after you both were gone but when I remembered, it made me wonder what else I had... forgotten."

Loki swallowed, his jaw clenching while he tried to form a reply. "... and... what did you recall?"

"A great many things, Loki. Things I am not proud of."

Turning away to hide the tears inexplicably stinging his eyes, Loki asked, "Such as?"

There were footsteps behind him, Thor drawing closer. "I remember so many occasions where I pushed you aside in favour of garnering glory for myself. I remember mocking your talent for magic as if it was an unworthy pursuit. I see myself ignoring you entirely during my coronation. I had the nerve to walk up to the Destroyer and tell you I didn't know how I'd wronged you."

Thor paused and exhaled in a way that sounded like he was holding back from crying. "I see the agony in your eyes as we fought, the resignation in them when you let go and fell from the bifrost. I spent so many days wondering why you gave up on us. Now I wonder why it was so long before you did."

Loki clenched his hands into fists at his sides, still refusing to face his brother. For so long he told himself that Thor hadn't changed, that he was still the same spoiled brat who wanted nothing more than to hunt giants and trolls, and then bask in all the admiration Asgard heaped upon him. Each time they faced each other it seemed to be the case, and yet...

Here he was, being humble. Contrite, even. Where was that person when Loki needed him most? When Loki's entire world came crashing down around his feet, Thor was realms away. When Thor found him on Midgard after his harrowing journey through the backwater of the galaxy, his brother's only thought was of the Tesseract. Not even after their mother's murder was Thor civil to him. Why was it only after Loki's supposed demise that Thor appreciated the weight of his own actions?

_He thinks I'm dead,_ Loki reminded himself. _All people romanticize the dead._ Disappointment burned inside Loki's chest. Of course it wasn't a genuine change of heart. Thor only regretted his actions now because he perceived there was no way to fix them. No way for him to be the hero.

"And if I hadn't given up," Loki said at last, ensuring his voice betrayed no emotion. "What then?"

"Then I would strive to be the brother I should have been to you all those years."

In spite of everything, a tiny twinge of yearning pulled at Loki's heart. "What if you could be?"

He could almost hear Thor's eyebrows furrowing. "What?" Thor asked.

"What if I were alive and you had that chance?" Loki could scarcely believe he said the words himself but they tumbled out his mouth almost without his permission.

"I wish with all my heart it was possible, Loki," Thor declared. "I would have us be true brothers again."

Something about his words enraged Loki. Thor seemed to think everything, all of their history, could just be discarded. As if it meant nothing. All the years of Loki's pain and suffering, of striving for something that was never within his reach simply set aside like an old disused garment.

"Are my crimes are meaningless now?" he demanded, turning around sharply. "My treason, my deception, my waging war on two realms - is it all so easily forgotten?"

"Of course not!"

For a moment, Loki thought the old Thor was about to re-emerge. He wanted to be relieved but was only saddened by the idea. It didn't happen though. His brother stayed calm.

"You are hardly blameless Loki," Thor told him with no trace of anger or arrogance in his tone. "But neither can I continue pretending that I am."

"Well, well. The shining son of Odin is not so golden as he would have us all believe." He smiled without any humour. "I suppose the stars will fall from the sky next."

Rather than rise to the bait, Thor shook his head, dejected. "I _am_ sorry, brother. I wish I had the words to make you believe me. But even if I did, I will never have the chance to say them. You are gone, and that's my fault as well. You were the one who paid the price for _my_ impetuousness. These dreams are as close as I will ever come to telling you how deeply I regret everything."

_Dreams._ The realization struck Loki all at once. Yes, this was a dream. There were no real consequences. He could say or do anything without fearing the repercussions.

"I regret much as well, brother," he admitted. 

The slight smile Thor favoured Loki with then was filled with sadness. "Would that we could begin again."

"Mayhap we can," Loki replied. "In this place we can. Our dreams are what we make them. In them we can start anew."

Later on, when he wondered why he said what he did, Loki would tell himself he did it to maintain the illusion. That in his imagination, Thor would conjure a Loki willing to forgive and he was only playing the part. But his reasoning didn't explain the warmth that spread through his chest when Thor smiled with genuine happiness at the suggestion, or why when his brother clapped his hand on the back of Loki's neck the same as he did so long ago, Loki didn't pull away.

Loki knew he was tempting fate by staying as long as he had. Every moment he remained on Midgard increased the chance of discovery. He murmured a few words and Thor's eyelids drooped. His brother was pliant as Loki directed him back to his bed. Going out the same way he came in, Loki made his way home.

~~~|~~~

"Are you all right?"

Thor looked up from his breakfast. "Hm?"

From across the table Jane quirked an eyebrow up, looking concerned. "I said, are you all right? You seem really quiet this morning. Something on your mind?"

"Just a dream," he said, still a little distracted. 

"Another bad one?" Jane asked.

The hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "No, actually. Not this time."

**Author's Note:**

> So I hated how quickly Thor got over Loki's death in The Dark World. I mean, I get that there was _Universe Ending Catastrophe_ on the horizon and Thor had things to do. I wouldn't have minded that by itself but about 60 seconds after his brother died in his arms, Thor's biggest concern was not how to find Malekith and save the world, but who Jane was talking to on the phone. Once the moment of Loki's death passed, it seemed to have zero impact on Thor. (Please believe me, I'm not criticizing Thor the character, just the writing of that particular sequence in the film. I actually liked the movie and I adore Chris Hemsworth but I had a bone to pick and this fic is the result).
> 
> If anyone's interested, ljósmynd is Icelandic for photograph. (According to Google Translate anyway). I didn't want to use the English word because I was suggesting something different than an ordinary picture.
> 
> Thank you for reading. As always, comments are welcome.


End file.
